GS Entec to Supply 200 Billion KRW Worth of Monopiles to Yeonggwang Offshore Wind Farm

GS Entec announced on the 19th that it will supply 64 monopiles worth 200 billion KRW for the Yeonggwang Nakwol offshore wind power project.

The Yeonggwang Nakwol offshore wind power project is a large-scale offshore wind power development located near Nakwol-myeon, Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do, with a total installed capacity of 365MW, planning to install 64 wind turbines each with a capacity of 5.7MW.

Offshore Wind Power Photo

The monopiles supplied by GS Entec are cylindrical structures made by welding large steel plates, serving as key equipment supporting offshore wind turbines on the seabed. Compared to existing substructure methods such as floating, Tri-Pod, and Jacket, the monopile method has a shorter manufacturing period and lower cost, making it preferred in the overseas offshore wind market.

The project owner, Nakwol Blueheart, explained the reason for adopting monopiles as "it enables reduction in project cost and construction period, and its long-term stability has been proven, leading to the decision to apply it domestically for the first time."

GS Entec, a subsidiary of GS Global, signed a strategic partnership agreement with the Netherlands-based 'Sif', which holds the world's number one market share, in July last year to introduce the monopile method and has been cooperating since then.

Offshore wind power foundation structure of Dutch company Sif (Photo by GS)

Since its establishment in 1988, GS Entec has manufactured large petrochemical equipment for oil refining and petrochemical plants for over 30 years, and since 2020, it has transformed into an eco-friendly equipment specialist company specializing in monopile production. Additionally, to secure the necessary facilities for monopile manufacturing, it has made an initial investment of 35 billion KRW and is considering an additional investment of 200 billion KRW to introduce equipment applying the latest technology from Sif.

Recently, GS Entec also received an investment of 64.3 billion KRW from Dominus Investment, a global private equity fund (PEF) management company. All of these funds will be invested in the offshore wind power business.

A GS Entec official stated, "We have set a cumulative order target of 200 billion KRW in the offshore wind power business by 2025 and are actively promoting the offshore wind power business through monopiles," adding, "We will target domestic and overseas markets to meet the expectations of overseas clients."